Tank sealer removal

[vibrac]

After I used the dry method outlined above and reading here about the various concoctions for melting the old stuff it occurs to me that some of the concoctions suggested may remain in the nooks and crannies mixed with the original sealant and awaiting resealing with the new 'improved' sealant and then would continue its silent work at a slower pace on the new sealant.
what say you? should I stick to "dry cleaning" if I meet the problem again? (I drain my tanks now for non use and squirt wd40 in)

 

[Chris Launders]

I would think most of these chemicals can be neutralised easily enough. A friend says instead of using nut's bolt's etc. to knock stuff free he uses a length of wire rope in a battery drill crimped about 1" from the end so it can't splay out too much. Acts like a wire brush on a stick.
Chris.

 

[yorchie]

Sometimes "old-school" is still the way to go - Nuts and Bolts are the "best" method to clean a gas tank. Sounds like you have hit the inside of the tank pretty hard with chemicals. Throw in clean nuts and bolts (a couple of hand full (s) and seal the two gas/oil openings with rags and tape with painters blue tape or automotive green/yellow masking tape for no residue on outside of tank. (Be ultra paranoid and wrap the gas tank with protection) Start shaking with just the nuts and bolts (dry). Get your heart rate up to 150 beats and then repeat. Great upper arm exersize and good cardio. Flush with dish detergent/water through the petcock holes. Shake some more and after a few rounds should be able to flush with clean water and no chunks. Use one of those flexible wand magnet to get the nuts out of the gas tank. Bathroom tub works perfect as a work area. Add Guiness as needed.

 

[vibrac]

Strap it to a cement mixer they said.....

 

[van Ginneke]

For my UFM I used a electric potters wheel (brand Shimpo with variable speed) on it's side and counted the nuts going in & out.

 

[Chris Launders]

So far I have pulled out what loose stuff I could, then used the Tank Care Products Petseal remover, this as described broke up most of the resinous sealer and loosened the rest which iv'e broken up and got out, then used the nuts and bolts method and cleaned that out. This amounts to about 1/2 a bucket full !!! and I have identified two types of resin that had been used.
This still leaves a lot of stuff on the sides and top of a flaky/rubbery nature,this I assume is the remains of a "flexible" sealer used at some time (some of the resin lumps were "glued" together with this) so I have ordered some stuff to disolve this.
The good news so far is the tank weighs about 2/3 of what it did and will probably hold a lot more petrol.
Chris.

 

[jim burgess]

I don't have a time problem and already removed a large pile of resinous and rubbery stuff so I think two lots of sealer have been used, scraped and shook out as much as I can but can still see stuff through tap holes so it will have to be disolved out, ordered Petseal remover from Tank Care Products as Petseal was definitely one of the sealers used. If that leaves some I will probably have to use their flexible sealer remover on the rest.
Chris.

I used two tins of petseal on a Triumph fuel tank over 2 decades. I removed it with polystripper, nuts and bolts, shake the tank. It took several applications and lots of time. Finished off with whitespirit, the sealant came out in lumps and sheets, most of your sealant will have sunk to the bottom on application and this is where you will need most remover. As for Vin oil tanks, strap to front of concrete mixer fill with boiling water, white spirit and a "counted" number of nuts, bolts, wood screws. You will need extra sealing around the filler neck. Switch on and remove "grunge" after half an hour. Repeat for 2 hours, then repeat till clean. Good book helps.
Jim Burgess

 

[Goffy998]

Methylene Chloride (AKA Dichloromethane) removes Petseal. This is what most powerful paint strippers consist of.
Nitromors Professional is (was) a Methylene Chloride paint stripper the consistency of water, so ideal for this application, and available at most good hardware stores though becoming harder to find.
Two applications is usually enough. The Company now trading as Petseal sells its own stripper which is , surprise surprise, Methylene Chloride at a price.

 

[John Cone]

Brian Dee's did my tank about 25yrs ago with what i believe to be petseal. Up to now it's not shown any effect to our modern petrol/ I haven't found any debris in the carb filters yet.

 

[jim burgess]

Methylene Chloride (AKA Dichloromethane) removes Petseal. This is what most powerful paint strippers consist of.
Nitromors Professional is (was) a Methylene Chloride paint stripper the consistency of water, so ideal for this application, and available at most good hardware stores though becoming harder to find.
Two applications is usually enough. The Company now trading as Petseal sells its own stripper which is , surprise surprise, Methylene Chloride at a price.

Yes Yes thank you Goffy it was Nitromoors not polystripper, my mind must have been on other things, I think it was the "stripper" part that got me...
jim